To find out if the parents have been feeding the baby, gently palpate this area with your thumb and forefinger.Ī fed baby will have a fat crop stuffed with seeds or it might feel squishy. The crop is a large storage pouch for food. HAVE PARENTS BEEN FEEDING A BABY ON THE GROUND? A playground or shopping center is not exactly ideal neither is a tree full of grackles or a few cats sitting on a nearby wall. If you can walk up to a bird and pick it up easily, then it does need to be rescued. They should walk away from people if approached. Inca doves have reddish brown feathers under the wing.īe careful where you step as this Inca Dove fledgling is Note the reddish brown feather by the wing. This little Inca Dove is out of the nest a day or so too early. The head is still pretty fuzzy. We receive a lot of calls about “a dove that can’t fly so it must have a broken wing”.Īs stated, the young doves are on the ground for several days before they can fly. Still smaller than an adult, tail is longer than a fledgling. Tails are short.Ībove: Juvenile Mourning Dove. Feathered out but still has some pin feathers. Fledgling doves are on the ground for 3-4 daysīefore they can fly. If they don't, they do need to be rescued. They should try to get away from people when approached. They leave the nest at 11 or 12 days old these birds have They’re helpless against an assortment of predators including cats, dogs, kids, ants, and grackles. The parents continue to feed them but they don’t stay with them.Ī baby dove that leaves the nest at 11 days old will take about 4 days to become flighted. When they get to the ground, they hopefully find some protective shelter like a thick bush or ground cover. Iif there is danger of preditors (cats, dogs, grackles, ants) or the bird is in an inappropriate area such as a school yard or busy shopping center, it may have to be rescued. He needs bushes or underbrush in which to hide. The young bird should be alert and walk away from people when approached. They have to hide in bushes or underbrush during the night and are often caught by prowling cats.īecause they can't fly, people often rescue them, thinking they have an injured wing. This is a time when they are very vulnerable. Finally, the baby will get hungry enough to leave the nest and flutter down to the ground.įledgling doves may be on the ground for several days before they are able to fly back up into a tree. If a baby is reluctant to leave the nest after 12 days, the parents will often keep watch nearby but refuse to feed it. When they begin to self-regulate their body temperature, the parents no longer brood them at night. Fledglings: From the time they hatch, doves leave the nest at about 11 or 12 days old.
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